Palo Alto Schools Named After Leaders Of Eugenics Movement To Get New Names

PALO ALTO (CBS/AP) — School officials in Palo Alto have unanimously voted to rename two middle schools that bear the names of leaders in the eugenics movement.

The Palo Alto Unified School District Board of Education voted Friday 5-0 to rename Jordan Middle School, which is named after David Starr Jordan, and Terman Middle School, which is named after Lewis Terman.

Terman was a former Stanford psychologist and Jordan was an accomplished scientist and Stanford’s founding president.

Both were members of the Human Betterment Foundation, a group that believed the human race could be improved through selective reproduction including forced sterilization.